Arkham Origins : a retelling
by tymaca
Summary: It started as a regular Christmas eve, but its Gotham, what did you expect?
1. Chapter 1

_Christmas Eve _

Homes filled with joy as presents are unwrapped, candles being lit in front of the widow, as to share their warmth with the entire city.

Bruce Wayne was no different, his butler Alfred prepared stuffed turkey in the kitchen. The smell filled the entire manor. The maids, chefs, his butler. All were in a good mood thanks to the Christmas atmosphere.

Bruce turned on the TV and watched the news as usual, he did so every evening. Vicki Vale appeared, reporting about the severe winter storm that was about to hit Gotham City. The GCPD advised everyone to stay inside due to the weather. Bruce looked over his shoulder, glancing at the small table by the wall. On top of the table were pictures of his parents, who had passed away when Bruce was just a small boy.

Bruce went over to the table and grabbed up a particular picture, taken outside the Monarch theater, on it were both his parents, Martha Wayne and Thomas Wayne, and a young Bruce between them. The picture was taken by Alfred, who drove off to the manor after taking the picture. If only he hadn't… Bruce knew he couldn't blame Alfred for what happened to his parents, he couldn't blame himself, couldn't blame his father, in a way, Bruce couldn't even blame the guy who shot them.

''_Vicki, is that Commissioner Gordon?'' _

Bruce glanced over at the TV, Vale was still reporting, a press conference was about to start

Bruce watched Commissioner Gordon as he approached the stage, lots of reporters immediately started shouting questions the moment Gordon appeared.

''_If everybody would just calm down, thank you, thank you._

_I'm holding this press conference for two reasons, one reason is public knowledge, we finally captured Julian Day. The other reason isn't. Two weeks ago, Ace Chemicals had a break in. We identified the culprit as 'The Red Hood'. Leader of the Wild hounds gang that has been located in Gotham for years. Due to an unfortunate turn of events, their leader tripped into a chemical vat. We had high hopes of recovering the body, but it was nowhere to be found. _

_We now believe, and have proof, that Red Hood somehow survived this incident. Which is why we, the GCPD, are reaching out to the public. The acid Red hood tripped in should've melted his signature Red hood to his head, meaning he can't get it off. If anyone sees, or even thinks he saw The Red Hood, we ask you immediately reach out to the GCPD.''_

Bruce had vague flashbacks, he couldn't remember it all too well, but it was a chase gone wrong. He remembered trying to reach out to Red Hood, trying to pull him away from the chemicals ,but it had rained that day, and the steel they were standing on was slippery…

''_Now, as for Julian Gregory Day, better known as the Calendar man, we are happy to say that mister Day got served the death penalty, and will no longer be with us in the next coming hour.''_

They showed a small corridor in Blackgate penitentiary, where a group of security guards was carrying Day out of his cell.

''_WAAAIIIIITTTT!''_

The security guards where stopped in their tracks by a small, skinny young woman.

''_Yeah? Whadda ya want?'' _A security guard asked.

''_I reevaluated Julian Day's profile, this man is criminally insane, and shouldn't be executed!''_

''Master Wayne! Dinner is ready!'' Alfred shouted.

''Coming!'' Bruce answered. He was about to stand up when the security guard replied.

''_What the? Harleen, you were the one that declared him sane in the first place, heck, Crane backed you up on that one, he's going down.''_

The security guards walked past Harleen into the execution chamber.

The footage was stopped and the camera switched back to Gordon.

''_Sorry for that misunderstanding, tends to happen a lot around new doctors, I can assure you Day will be executed. We of the GCPD see this as not only a victory for ourselves, but a victory against criminality as well. We wish all of you a merry Christmas, and a happy new year.''_

Bruce turned the TV off and went to the dinner hall, where Alfred stood with in his hand a silver plate, with on top of that a delicious looking turkey.

Bruce ate in silence as Christmas music was played by a small group of piano players he had hired. He was thinking about what he just witnessed on TV, the odd woman standing up for a serial killer. But something else was off, Gordon's speech pattern was quite nervous, as if he wanted to tell himself Julian Day was going to be executed, but he knew it wouldn't happen.

After the delicious meal, Bruce expressed his gratitude to the piano players and turned back on the TV, Gordon was on screen once again, didn't he just end the press conference?

Reporters were bombarding the poor man with questions, what had happened?

''_EVERYBODY CALM DOWN! Just because Day escaped won't mean that the GCPD will give up her hunt for him!''_

Day had escaped, this was bad. Bruce hurried to his library and pulled the secret book out, to reveal a secret entrance into the Bat cave.

''Where are you going, Master Bruce?'' Alfred asked, he had just entered the library as well.

''Blackgate''.

''I see, I do hope you keep the cold weather in mind, it would be a shame to catch a cold during Christmas.''

''Will do Alfred''.

And with that, Bruce entered the Bat cave and suited up. He prepared the Batcopter to fly him to Blackgate.


	2. Blackgate

_Blackgate penitentiary_

The Batcopter landed on the soft white snow around Blackgate. Blackgate itself looked normal on the outside, but having watched the news, Bruce knew better.

There were police cars surrounding Blackgate, the GCPD had the place secure in case Day was stupid enough to actually escape. Wayne knew him better, he knew how Day had spent months in his cell waiting for the next holiday, and that, even though Day wasn't one of the brightest inmates, he wouldn't be stupid enough to just run straight towards the exit doors.

Bruce grappled up to the roof of Blackgate, used his explosive gel to burst a hole in the roof, and went in.

He found himself in a vent, with no windows or hints of light whatsoever. He crawled on forward until he heard voices, in a room below him, two Blackgate guards were having a conversation.

''_And then I was all like, 'Oh no, the Calendar man is escaping!' Should've seen the look on his face, but Julian got the hint, and ran off. Man, Black Mask better pay us if he knows what's good for him.''_

Just what Bruce thought, Day's escape wasn't an accident.

''_Or else what? You thinkin' of starting a war against Black Mask, heck, doesn't he own like, 99% of the GCPD?'' _

''_Nah man, Sionis can't be THAT powerful, with cops like Gordon and Bullock, he's not even close to 99%.''_

''_that doc that just ran in last minute, was she on the payroll too? What the hell was she doin'?_

''_That was some rookie doc, can't see her being on the payroll yet. Hasn't worked here long enough, she'll join us though. They all do eventually.''_

The conversation seemed to end, and Bruce smashed his way out of the vent, into the room.

He landed on one officer, taking him down. Just as the other officer was about to grab his gun, Bruce stunned him with his cape and grabbed his throat.

''WHAT DID BLACK MASK TELL YOU? Talk, or I'll make you…''

''Look man..he just wanted Day out, I don't know what he got planned for this place, he just paid me and told me what to do, dunno the details!''

Bruce delivered one final blow, knocking the corrupt guard unconscious.

A voice was heard over the intercom.

''It seems that our friend Batman has arrived, so the fabled myth finally decided to show itself? Can't wait for you to see what I got planned, remember that drug operation you stopped two weeks ago? That was a bad move. No one messes with Black Mask, NO ONE! But..You showed me the light, I actually decided to put the money towards good use. See, I knew that having an inmate break out would get your attention, and here you are! You're turning predictable. Now, be a good hero, and meet me at cell block A, if you don't, well..Things could get ugly.''

Even though it was obviously a trap, Bruce decided it would be best to head for Cell block A. As he was walking past the long corridors of the prison, he wondered how it would feel to be imprisoned here. The walls all were depressingly black, with a white Blackgate logo on some of them. And the little widows the building had, were all incredibly dirty.

Finally, he reached the door towards cell block A. Which was a huge room, with cells in every wall, divided into multiple floors. All the way at the top floor, was Black mask, wearing a white tuxedo suit with a black tie and his iconic black mask. Below him were inmates cheering and screaming. They were however, not the center of attention.

In front of Black Mask stood a chair that was about to fall of the platform, wouldn't it have been for a rope tying the chair to a hook. In the chair, Alberto Falcone, son of mob boss Carmine Falcone.

''Batman, so glad you could make it! Me and my boys have been waiting. Before me you see the lovable, charming, handsome Alberto Falcone. But of course, you already knew that.''

Black mask dug his hand into his pockets and pulled out a pair of scissors.

''You know what would happen if I were to cut this rope? Alberto over here would fall to his death, his father would be angry, I could blame it on the Penguin. I could say he paid me to do it. His father would start a war against the Penguin. And just in the midst of that gang war, I attack, and destroy them both. In a way, this pair of scissors is the future of Gotham.''

Batman stared at Black mask. ''Don't even think about it.''

Black mask laughed, his mask making the laugh sound muffled. ''I don't know Bats, what say we boys? Shall we release this Falcone from the shadow of his father?''

The inmates were cheering loudly.

Black Mask leaned in towards the sweating Alberto, whispering in his ear. ''Let's see if daddy can save you now.'' With that, he cut the rope holding the chair. Batman quickly pulled out his batclaw and grabbed Alberto, the landing wasn't soft, but he didn't deserve a soft landing.

''Oh Batman, always gettin' in the way of my business. Speaking of business, you're obviously wondering what I did with the money, right?''

Batman didn't reply.

''Oh alright, fine, I'll tell you, no need to be so pushy.''

''Ten assasins, all coming after your head, they'll do anything I tell em to. The price? 5 million, if they'll make you suffer, I'll double it. You're going to regret messing with Black Mask.''

Black Mask pressed a small button and a large, steel door opened.

In the pitchblack darkness, two yellow eyes were visible.

''_Tick..Tock..Tick..Tock.''_

''Croc, if you'd be so kind as to show my boys their way to freedom!''

Croc being a giant, almost reptile like creature, Bruce wasn't even sure if it was human.

Croc grabbed the wall nearest to him with both hands, and started to pull it apart, all the inmates were hurrying trough it, and all Batman could do was watch. There was no way he could face that many inmates.

''My father's gonna be so angry!'' Alberto squeled. But Bruce didn't pay attention to him.

Outside, the sound of gunfire was heard, along with the sound of screams in agony, bones being ripped apart, flesh being eaten.

Batman went outside and left Alberto behind in cell block A, he wasn't the most important threat right now.

Batman contacted Alfred.

''_I trust everything went well in Blackgate sir?''_

''It's going to be a long night, Alfred.''


	3. Mother Nature's revenge

_Gotham City, Bat cave_

The Bat copter flew through the waterfall straight into the dimly lit cave, it landed on the helipad with a loud _'thunk' _sound.

''Are you alright Master Wayne? I heard of the break-out, very troubling indeed.'' Alfred spoke.

''That's not one of my biggest concerns right now Alfred, Black Mask was talking about sending ten assassins to collect a bounty on my head, I'm trying to figure out who they are, but Sionis's bank account is a clean slate. '' Batman stated.

''Oh dear, that does sound troubling indeed. Oh, before I forget Master Wayne, detective Bullock rang the doorbell when you were gone. He asked for Bruce Wayne to head for the Botanical Gardens. Apparently, Gotham officials want to remove a small part of the building to make place for a monument, but, and I'm quoting detective Bullock here, ''A bunch of hippie's.'' are halting process. They asked for you to show up, because apparently, you were the one who funded the monument.''

Bruce nodded.

''I'll head there as soon as I can Alfred.''

Alfred exited the Bat cave trough the elevator.

Bruce took off his cowl and took a seat in front of the Bat computer, something was off. If Black Mask did indeed spend money on assassins, his bank account would've left some sort of hint. However, Roman Sionis was no stranger to the Gotham banks, the man had multiple accounts, and searching all of them for payments was going to take a long time.

Bruce once again opened up Roman Sionis's main bank account, and noticed something odd, the date on his screen.. December 24? That was yesterday. Bruce quickly typed in a few codes to discover that the bank account was just a fake screenshot, taken a day before. He closed the screenshot to reveal Sionis's actual bank account. He had to scroll down a little until stumbling upon ten suspicious payments.

Payment number 1 : Lonnie Machin

_The GCPD has quite a record on him. Alias is Anarky, believes that the world would be a better place without hierarchy. Will do anything in his power to accomplish this ideal, crimes include murder, attempted murder and kidnapping._

Payment number 2_ : _Jack White

_Odd, the GCPD has nothing on this guy, no fingerprint record, no photo. Absolutely nothing, further investigation required._

Payment number 3 : Slade Wilson

_Alias Deathstroke, an assassin who is at the top of his game, has never failed to complete a hit. The guy's old, but knows how to do his job._

Slade has quite a record, even then, Bruce had seen him before, he was as dicreet as possible, and a lot of hits weren't even listed by the GCPD.

Payment number 4 : Ed-

The Bat computer shut itself down. The speakers remained turned on.

A voice echoed throughout the cave.

''No need to finish that sentence, Edward Nigma. Black Mask's paying me to turn your little computer network into dust. I can just hear you wondering 'how did he do it? How did this guy break through my highly secured bat-network?' Well, you suck at security, I'm not even joking, it was really easy. If you're supposed to be the number one hero of Gotham, then we're all screwed, really. Anyway, consider your Bat computer out of service for the moment, you're supposed to be a great detective right? Have fun.''

And with that, the speakers turned off as well. Bruce was trying to get the Bat computer working again, when Alfred's voice echoed through the cave.

''Sir, it's detective Bullock again, I don't mean to hasten you in your efforts, but mister Bullock is known for his temper!''

''Coming Alfred!'' Bruce shouted back. He took off the rest of the costume and placed it in the costume chamber. He quickly grabbed the most nearby tuxedo he could find and headed over to the front door.

''Finally!'' Bullock sighed, Bullock was as usual small and angry. His nose almost reaching his mouth. He could be described as your stereotypical angry cop.

''Once you're done with all your playboy business upstairs, can we head to the gardens, the workers are gettin' angry!''

''I'm sorry, detective, but now is not a good time, I've got business to attend to.'' Bruce tried to be polite, but it was hard when he was being screamed at.

''Good, so am I!'' Bullock shouted, and grabbed Wayne's arm ''Now you're comin' with me, because these hippie's are pissin' me off!''

Nowadays, it was hard to find something that DIDN'T piss Bullock off.

Time seemed to pass slowly in the police car, Bruce tried to warn Harvey that right now isn't a good time. But every time he opened his mouth Bullock shut him up.

Upon arriving at the Botanical gardens, the group of hippies approached the police car, holding up peace signs and screaming about nature. Bruce opened his door and tried to calm the group down. ''Dude, this is like…sooooooooo uncool ,I mean, really dude.''

''Look, everybody calm down, it's freezing out here, and I don't think anyone wants to stay outside for long, now, who organized this protest?''

The group all pointed towards a red haired girl, she wasn't mother's prettiest, wore brown sunglasses, and looked the calmest out of the entire group.

She spoke in a soft voice

''Look mister Wayne, I know why you're doing this, you want to pay tribute to a fallen tyrant, like yourself. But I don't see why you should do it here, to destroy a part of this building would be to destroy a part of Mother Nature herself.''

Bruce laughed, the girl looked way too young to be taken seriously. ''You're not honestly thinking that just because a small group of citizens don't agree with me, I'd stop this project, do you? Look, the Graysons were good acrobats, and it's a shame what happened to them. Not only that, but the youngest, Dick, is someone I can relate to. I want the world to know who the Graysons were, however, since Haley's circus is a travelling one, and the death happened during a show in Gotham, I see no other option but to place it here.''

The girl laughed. ''Since when did you ever care for accidents?''

She removed her sunglasses to reveal two poison green eyes.

''You're…'' Bruce stuttered.

''Remember me, mister Wayne? You fired me for producing, how did you put it? Ah 'unethical products.' Good times.''

Bullock made his way to Wayne, the group was standing in a circle, within the middle of them Wayne and the girl.

''But I grew, mister Wayne, I blossomed, I flourished. I saw the sun and absorbed the rain!''

''What the hell is going on here?!" Bullock shouted, pulling out his gun.

Wayne replied ''This is..Pamela Isley, she took a job a few years back as a researcher in Wayne enterprises. She was secretly working on some hypnotic products, and I fired her. She tried to grab her stuff and some of her products spilled on her, we're lucky she never sued us.''

''I'm not one for vengeance, mister Wayne. But everything changed once someone approached me claiming that people were interested in me and my….gift.''

''What happened to you?'' Wayne spoke in astonishment.

''The first few years, nothing, then…I killed my first boyfriend by kissing him, after that? My eyes changed. Shortly after my ears changed, I heard the cries of Mother Nature, she was screaming in agony. That's when I decided to make a change. One more construction worker on this building site and I'll kill every one of you.''


End file.
